What does culture mean to you? The practice and process of consultation on cultural policy in Scotland since devolution

Abstract

In 1999, the Scottish Executive embarked upon a public consultation which engaged 1000 people and organisations around questions that included definitions of culture, the purpose and priorities of the proposed first Scottish national cultural strategy and the structures required to support its implementation. The consultation process revealed a strong and widely expressed desire for the Scottish Executive to lead and create a national cultural strategy, which would state clearly what culture meant to Scotland, the role it played throughout Scotland and on an international stage. There was a clear demand for structural change, an aspiration for change in education and a desire to be involved in celebrating and sharing Scotland's rich and diverse culture in all its aspects, to recognise Scotland's past and present culture as well as plan the future. Over the next decade, post-devolution, successive ministers and administrations embarked on a turbulent journey of policy setting, strategy development and structural change. They took action in some of the key areas identified in 1999, including those concerning Scotland's international image, the creative industries and Scotland's languages and education. The most recent statements on cultural policy are contained in the White Paper on Independence published in November 2013. This paper reviews the issues prevalent during the 1999 consultation and reflects on those that have been addressed, superseded and those that remain unresolved.

Keywords:

• Scotland
• cultural policy
• national
• cultural consultation
• cultural strategy

Notes

1. I have been involved in a number of the processes and actions discussed in this paper. I was the lead consultant on the consultation into the National Cultural Strategy in 1999 (SE, 2000), acted as a Transition Director of Creative Scotland in 2009 and was involved in the establishment of Culture Counts.

2. While this table does not claim to be exhaustive, it includes all significant policy consultations and actions relevant to the discussion undertaken here.

3. The questions and their responses are summarised in the consultation report (Bonnar Keenlyside, 2000).

4. Comparisons with Nordic States, as well as Quebec and Catalonia, occurred regularly in consultation responses (Bonnar Keenlyside, 2000; CC, 2005).

5. The net expenditure on culture from Scottish local authorities in 2012/2013 was £613.67 m (SG, 2014c). Creative Scotland's (CS, 2013) expenditure for the same period was £53.58 m.

6. For example: audience figures at the Edinburgh Festivals or details of successful international tours.

7. Broadcasting, film and media cannot be considered in full in this short paper. However, two notable consultations should be highlighted. First, the SG's Broadcasting Commission (SG, 2008) which took evidence from public agencies and leaders in, “cultural, economic and democratic” phases, leading to recommendations which included the setting up a Scottish digital channel. Second, the film review which Creative Scotland commissioned in 2013 as one of several sector reviews (BOP Consulting, 2014). The consultation's open call elicited 87 responses and over a hundred attending the open meeting. The greatest number of comments related to issues of structure and policy and the consultants concluded that a “screen-focused public agency” is required.